EPA staff, research and budget cuts, and DOGE grant cancellations (2025-2026)

Case

EPA cut its workforce from 16,155 to 12,448 (about 23%) in the first months of Trump's second term, dissolved its Office of Research and Development, and canceled more than 400 grants worth $1.7 billion in one round with DOGE's assistance. The administration asked for a 54-55% budget cut; Congress's FY2026 bill funded EPA at about $8.8 billion, roughly 4% below FY2025.

Workforce and research office
EPA's workforce fell from 16,155 employees in January 2025 to 12,448, a cut of 3,707 (22.9%), in a report dated July 18, 2025. The figure includes people who took deferred resignation or early retirement as well as those laid off.
The agency's Office of Research and Development was being dismantled and replaced by a smaller Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions, which would focus on chemical and pesticide review backlogs and PFAS strategy.
Inside Climate News reported that the research office went from more than 1,500 employees to 140, and that more than 3,700 EPA employees were cut in the first seven months of the second term.
Administrator Lee Zeldin said the cuts would "ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars," and the report put projected savings at $748.8 million.

DOGE and grant cancellations
On March 10, 2025, EPA announced it was canceling more than 400 grants across nine programs, worth more than $1.7 billion, in what it called its fourth round of cuts "with DOGE." EPA said Zeldin was working "hand-in-hand with DOGE to rein in wasteful federal spending."
EPA's release grouped the cancellations with earlier rounds of what the agency called unnecessary spending, including DEI and environmental justice grants. The release as read for this entry does not itemize the grants.

The budget fight
The White House sought a 54% cut to EPA, to $4.2 billion, for fiscal 2026. Inside Climate News put the request at 55%, with the House proposing a 23% cut and the Senate a 5% cut.
The bipartisan spending package released Jan. 5, 2026 funded EPA at about $8.8 billion, roughly 4% (about $320 million) below FY2025's roughly $9 billion. Marc Boom of the Environmental Protection Network said, "This bill blocks the worst cuts and policy riders to EPA." The article was published before a vote, so the final enactment should be confirmed.
At an April 28, 2026 House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Zeldin faced Democrats including Rosa DeLauro, Chellie Pingree and Josh Harder over a renewed proposal to cut EPA by more than half to $4.2 billion, with state and tribal grants cut 83%, along with the endangerment finding, glyphosate and coal-plant mercury standards.

Perspectives

Official position — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin
The cuts and grant cancellations make EPA a better steward of taxpayer money and help it fulfill its "core mission of protecting human health and the environment." EPA describes the grant cancellations as ending wasteful spending, working hand-in-hand with DOGE.

Critic — Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.)
Neguse titled a video: "No administration has done more damage to our environment in a shorter time than the Trump admin." The title is his characterization. The clip's quoted remarks, as supplied, concern the exemptions rather than the cuts; see the EPA exemptions entry.

Research notes
Open leads: (1) Rep. Joe Neguse's YouTube Short (supplied by The Author) is cited with its title only; the clip itself could not be opened here. Needed: what he says, whom he addressed, and the date and setting. (2) Confirm enactment and signing of the FY2026 Interior-Environment bill and the final EPA figure. (3) Current EPA headcount as of fall 2026. (4) The $1.7B grants: which programs, and any court orders restoring them. (5) Whether DOGE itself, not EPA, has stated figures for EPA savings. (6) The April 2026 hearing was read via summary only.

Note
Zeldin says the cuts make EPA a better steward of tax dollars and better able to fulfill its mission, while unions and former staff say they gutted research and oversight capacity.

Sources
[1] eNCA — US environment agency axes nearly a quarter of workforce (https://www.enca.com/business/us-environment-agency-axes-nearly-quarter-workforce) · 2025-07-18
[2] EPA press release — Zeldin cancels 400+ grants in 4th round of cuts with DOGE, saving more than $1.7B (https://epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-administrator-lee-zeldin-cancels-400-grants-4th-round-cuts-doge-saving-americans) · 2025-03-10
[3] Inside Climate News — EPA funding salvaged in US Congress spending bill (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05012026/congress-epa-budget-bill-rejects-extreme-cuts/) · 2026-01-05
[4] E&E News — "Have your dog pee on it": Zeldin tangles with lawmakers during budget hearing (https://www.eenews.net/articles/have-your-dog-pee-on-it-zeldin-tangles-with-lawmakers-during-budget-hearing/) · 2026-04-28
[5] Rep. Joe Neguse (YouTube Short) — "No administration has done more damage to our environment in a shorter time than the Trump admin." (https://youtube.com/shorts/A5f790Mwy40)

Connections

Same actor — DOGE 'Defend the Spend': delayed and frozen funding to states
Both cover DOGE-assisted grant terminations; EPA's release says Zeldin worked with DOGE to cancel the grants.

Same actor — Elon Musk: 2024 political spending, DOGE role and ties to the Trump administration
DOGE, which Musk led during its first months, assisted in canceling EPA grants.

Same context — Environmental deregulation under EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin
Staff, research and budget cuts sit alongside the rule rollbacks covered in the broader entry.

Related — EPA's "electronic mailbox" for Clean Air Act exemptions and the presidential proclamations (2025-2026)
ProPublica reported that EPA scientists played no meaningful role in the exemptions; the cuts reduced the agency's staff and research capacity over the same period.

Same context — NASA Earth science under pressure: GISS eviction, withheld funds and proposed mission cancellations (2025-2026)
Both cover 2025-2026 cuts to federal environmental and climate research, including DOGE-linked actions.

Same context — NSF and NCAR: the plan to break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research and NSF climate grant terminations (2025-2026)
Both cover grant terminations and cuts to federal research with DOGE involvement reported.

Same context — Ocean observing under budget pressure: NOAA research cuts, Argo floats and the end of U.S. biogeochemical Argo (2025-2026)
Both cover cuts to federal environmental research, staff and grants in 2025-2026; no source reviewed ties the Argo funding gap to DOGE.

Same context — Oil, gas and the EPA: a timeline of Trump-era leadership, rollbacks and industry requests (2014-2026)
The 2025 staff and budget cuts are an entry in the timeline.

Related — Synthesis: profit over public protection, from East Palestine to the EPA (2017-2026)
Staff and research capacity cuts at EPA.